Makers of the Vijay-starrer Sarkar, on Friday, were forced into editing out ‘controversial’ scenes in the film, thereby bringing the escalating tensions over the film to a halt. The big release had irked the AIADMK government as it felt some parts to be an insult to former Chief Minister Jayalalitha.
However, the reaction of the government has provoked Vijay fans, who have taken to social media with videos of them burning and destroying freebies distributed by the TN government in the past few years.
One scene from the film involves the burning of freebies, like mixers, grinders and fans, which were distributed by the erstwhile Jayalalithaa-regime. The AIADMK government took umbrage with the scene, despite the fact that not only Jayalalitha, but both major parties in the state have indulged in handing out freebies in the past.
In videos that have now gone viral on YouTube and WhatsApp, fans of actor Vijay are seen setting fire to mixers and grinders with stickers of the late AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa.
With the theme music of Sarkar playing in the background, the fans are seen kicking, punching and hurling government-given laptops and table fans, in addition to grinders and mixers. In one video, a fan is seen setting fire to a TV and mixer and then kicking it down a cliff. Another video shows a man setting fire to a TV inside his house even as the news about the Sarkar controversy plays out on another TV nearby.
(This article was originally published in The News Minute and has been reposted with permission.)
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